Do solar farms alter invertebrate communities and reduce activity of the common pipistrelle bat ( Pipistrellus pipistrellus ) through prey‐mediated effects?
Abstract
Given the global expansion of solar farms, assessing their ecological impacts has become a research priority. In a previous paper, we reported that bat activity was reduced at ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) sites compared with paired control sites. As bats in the United Kingdom are insectivorous, understanding whether a similar trend occurs in their invertebrate prey may help explain the mechanisms underpinning reduced activity. We conducted a paired study at 18 ground‐mounted solar PV developments in south‐west England. Invertebrates were captured using Malaise traps positioned at central locations within fields containing solar PV, and simultaneously at matched control fields without solar development. Bats were monitored using passive acoustic surveys. We assessed how solar PV developments affected invertebrate abundance, richness and community composition, and tested a prey‐mediated mechanism linking solar infrastructure to higher trophic levels, focusing on Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity and its key dipteran prey. Solar farms supported a 1.3‐fold higher estimated arthropod family richness compared with control sites, although this pattern was not supported at the order level. Abundance responses were taxon‐specific: Coleoptera and Collembola were more abundant at control sites, while Hemiptera were more abundant at solar farms. At the family level, some groups were more strongly associated with solar PV sites, whereas others were more abundant at control sites, indicating a subtle but statistically supported shift in arthropod community composition. Invertebrate families differing in abundance between solar and control sites are unlikely to represent important components of P. pipistrellus diet. Although P. pipistrellus activity was reduced at solar farms, structural equation modelling revealed no evidence for prey‐mediated pathways linking solar PV panels to bat activity via the abundance of key dipteran prey. Prey type and availability are therefore unlikely to explain reduced bat activity at solar sites. Practical implication . While not an apparent mechanism for reduced bat activity, solar farms induce minor shifts in arthropod community composition. Development plans should consider potential effects of altered microclimate, electromagnetic fields and polarized light, and include habitat modifications that support biodiverse invertebrate communities at local and landscape scales.
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BibTeX
@article{tinsley2026solar,
title = {{Do solar farms alter invertebrate communities and reduce activity of the common pipistrelle bat ( Pipistrellus pipistrellus ) through prey‐mediated effects?}},
author = {Elizabeth Tinsley and Moth Broyles and Sándor Zsebők and Gareth Jones and Jérémy S P Froidevaux},
journal = {Ecological Solutions and Evidence},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1002/2688-8319.70296},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05752835v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Do solar farms alter invertebrate communities and reduce activity of the common pipistrelle bat ( Pipistrellus pipistrellus ) through prey‐mediated effects?
AU - Elizabeth Tinsley
AU - Moth Broyles
AU - Sándor Zsebők
AU - Gareth Jones
AU - Jérémy S P Froidevaux
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
JO - Ecological Solutions and Evidence
DO - 10.1002/2688-8319.70296
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05752835v1
AB - Given the global expansion of solar farms, assessing their ecological impacts has become a research priority. In a previous paper, we reported that bat activity was reduced at ground‐mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) sites compared with paired control sites. As bats in the United Kingdom are insectivorous, understanding whether a similar trend occurs in their invertebrate prey may help explain the mechanisms underpinning reduced activity. We conducted a paired study at 18 ground‐mounted solar PV developments in south‐west England. Invertebrates were captured using Malaise traps positioned at central locations within fields containing solar PV, and simultaneously at matched control fields without solar development. Bats were monitored using passive acoustic surveys. We assessed how solar PV developments affected invertebrate abundance, richness and community composition, and tested a prey‐mediated mechanism linking solar infrastructure to higher trophic levels, focusing on Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity and its key dipteran prey. Solar farms supported a 1.3‐fold higher estimated arthropod family richness compared with control sites, although this pattern was not supported at the order level. Abundance responses were taxon‐specific: Coleoptera and Collembola were more abundant at control sites, while Hemiptera were more abundant at solar farms. At the family level, some groups were more strongly associated with solar PV sites, whereas others were more abundant at control sites, indicating a subtle but statistically supported shift in arthropod community composition. Invertebrate families differing in abundance between solar and control sites are unlikely to represent important components of P. pipistrellus diet. Although P. pipistrellus activity was reduced at solar farms, structural equation modelling revealed no evidence for prey‐mediated pathways linking solar PV panels to bat activity via the abundance of key dipteran prey. Prey type and availability are therefore unlikely to explain reduced bat activity at solar sites. Practical implication . While not an apparent mechanism for reduced bat activity, solar farms induce minor shifts in arthropod community composition. Development plans should consider potential effects of altered microclimate, electromagnetic fields and polarized light, and include habitat modifications that support biodiverse invertebrate communities at local and landscape scales.
SN - 2688-8319
ER -